Why you need to get customers thinking about your brand in bed

40% of consumers use their smartphone to browse shops and make purchases after they’ve gone to bed, while one in ten use their mobiles to go online as early as 6am, a new white paper has revealed.

In a bid to gain a deeper understanding of mobile shopping behaviours, the report Mobile Shopping 2014 – the rise of the omniconsumer was produced by internet marketing consultants, Tradedoubler, based on research into the shopping habits of over 4,500 consumers from across Europe.

It found a number of striking trends related to mobile shopping, most notably the shift in the times people were most likely to make mobile purchases, and also the growing correlation between shopping in-store and making online, ‘showroomed’ purchases as a result.

50% of mobile-connected customers now use their devices to shop at least once a week, with 30% doing so every day and the most prevalent time being between 9pm and midnight. One in five respondents were defined as ‘big spenders’, spending more than £75 a month online, while ‘high earners’, or those with an annual salary of over £50,000 (one in 10 of all respondents) were deemed the most valuable mobile customers, because of the combination of wealth and need to be able to fuse a busy lifestyle with being able to shop anywhere, anytime.

32% of consumers admitting that making checks on mobile devices while in physical stores was leading to them changing their minds about products, with showrooming leading to a fifth of people deciding to buy elsewhere after viewing items on their mobile. Ominously, only 19% of consumers now complete the purchase cycle in-store.

“The smartphone clearly influences consumers’ out and in-store shopping behaviour, with more than half of shoppers changing the way they have bought something as a result of using a smartphone,” says Dan Cohen, regional director UK and Ireland at Tradedoubler. “Despite this, it is clear that many high street stores with a physical presence are still failing to provide a seamless and fully integrated omnichannel experience for consumers, which is why both on and offline competitors are still managing to influence shoppers even while in-store.

“Retailers need to remember that a smartphone-using consumer in their store is someone who is already interested in making a purchase from them. By providing targeted online offers, vouchers or coupons around peak times out-of-store that can be redeemed in-store, they can help ensure in-store mobile consumers are converted.”

Despite this growing need, the research suggests that retailers are still failing to embrace the importance of the customer journey across channels, with conversion from mobile device interaction to in-store sales still a largely unknown quantity.

Tradedoubler found that, while watching television, over half of smartphone owners use their device for activity related to the programme they are viewing (57%), or to buy something they have seen advertised (59%); rising to 69% and 71% of tablet owners.

“Those that intelligently fuse mobile technology and online shopping activity with that of the physical store, will ensure their brand is not lost amongst the competition, and convert consumers, into customers, wherever and whenever they are,” adds Cohen.

“The results reveal that the age of the omniconsumer is with us. Mobile should no longer be seen as a threat by retailers, but as a fantastic opportunity to increase both online and in-store sales.”